Mischief making on Gundalia
by Dreamflight4798
Summary: The Gundalians are looking for a mysterious Human who has pulled them from their own Universe!
1. Mission Briefing

**This has nothing to do with my other fanfiction. I received inspiration from a dream to write this. There are going to be no hints about this story, and no (other) headers or footers. **

**All non-bakugan characters are based off real people, but their names have been changed.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

Ren looked at the other members of his team. Every single one of them felt it too; a powerful pull, tugging at what felt like their very souls.

"It is truly a mysterious sensation," Jesse commented, one hand over his heart. Zenet rolled her eyes.

"Weird and creepy is more like it."

Ren suddenly heard a voice. It was something like his own, but it felt far away. The words were garbled, and accompanied by an image of a human girl walking in circles around a dirty bedroom, talking avidly to someone he couldn't see.

"What are all of you doing here?"

Ren looked to see Nurzak watching them. He immediately snapped to attention, as did everyone else. Nurzak told them to be at ease.

"Something unusual has been happening, sir," Lena explained. "All of us have been having visions of a human girl and hearing someone speaking for the past few days. We have no explanation."

"Oh, so you've been hearing that too?" Stoica asked, seeming to materialize. "I thought I'd just finally lost it."

Ren stiffened to attention again, his mind going a million miles a second. Not only him and his team, but the Twelve Orders too?

A transmission came in on his earpiece, and Ren pressed it to turn it on. Everyone in the ten foot radius of him did the same.

"Everyone report to my Bakugan Biology laboratory," Kazarina said, her voice tinny with static. "Emperor Barodius wishes your presence."

"Understood," Ren answered out loud. He-along with his team, Stoica, and Nurzak-walked down the dimly lit hallway.

In the lab, Kazarina was preparing one of her many machines. The Emperor stood nearby and watched them approach. Ren knelt before Barodius and waited until he was instructed to stand. Kazarina stopped calibrating her machine, and crossed her arms, beginning her explanation.

"Not even twelve hours ago, I became aware of a powerful force pulling a few members of the Twelve Orders. After thorough examination, I discovered that the unknown force was interdimensional and emanated from a different, parallel universe. Not only that, the source was a single Human female."

A video of the mysterious Human from his visions formed on the large wall screen. She was talking and walking around the same room as before. However, she was talking to absolutely no one. Her hand and arm gestures were getting increasingly dramatic, and her voice grew loud enough for Ren to hear his own name mentioned, as well as Jesse's.

"We are unsure about the Human in question," Kazarina continued, "but she appears aware of our observations."

Right on cue, the girl stopped talking, turned to-apparently-look directly at them. She threw her arms open in a dramatic gesture and said loudly: "What is the cause? What is the crime?"

It was not lost on Ren that she was speaking in the same accent Jesse used.

"After much consideration," Barodius interjected. "I have decided to send you and your team, Ren, to bring this strange Human to Gundalia. Stoica will go with you."

Stoica was not discouraged that he was the babysitter. In fact, he was very excited to find this Human. Who knew what else she could do?

"How are we to proceed?" Ren asked. Barodius looked at Kazarina for her to explain. She straightened immidiately.

"We will open a portal with Stoia's ship to her home planet. You will teleport to the coordinates of what I have identified to be her school. Do whatever is necessary to bring her back to Gundalia, short of physical force. Bring anyone else if necessary; we can send them back once we have her here."

"As you wish," Ren replied, bowing at the waist.


	2. Stalking

"How long does it take for a silly Human to show up?" Stoica asked himself.

He was very irritated that the Human girl he was trying to get moved around so much. He really was getting tired of looking like a human and wanted to go home. Ren's team was posted in the surrounding area, watching for her, but so far, there were no sightings.

He noticed a cluster of girls standing in front of one of the neighborhood houses. They giggled and split into groups, many of them holding bags. The only group left in front of the house went to the one next door, the last one saying something about trying to draw a..._chibi_?

Stoica watched the girls as they knocked on doors and collected cans of food from the other Humans. He walked along the street to keep them in view. When the girls ran back the cans to their "home base" house, they ran right past him on the sidewalk. For a reason he could not explain or deny, his pulse raced as one of them passed. He turned to watch her.

She didn't look particularly impressive: her brown hair, naturally highlighted by gold, was short as a boy's. She was only five and a half feet tall, wore ovular glasses like Lena, and her eyes were blue-gray in color. She was sturdily built, broad shoulders and long, muscular legs.

Stoica didn't know if she was the one they were looking for, but he knew she was not the same as the other humans.

*.*

Lena sat in the hard booth and felt very uncomfortable sitting directly across from Sid. She sipped at her drink and looked as a short-haired girl entered with her younger siblings and father.

"That her?" Sid whispered. Lena shrugged and narrowed her eyes. The human was walking through another door.

"I'll be right back," she whispered back to Sid. He nodded, eating another french fry.

She waited in front of the door until the girl walked out. They made eye contact. Lena suddenly felt very nervous, as if she was being scrutinized by a very important person. Then the human smiled and stood aside to let Lena through the door, then returned to her table, back to back with where Sid was sitting.

He turned a little to look at the girl. She did the same, and then quickly dropped her gaze. But not before Sid saw a look in her eyes that said,_ I know who you are and what you're doing_.

*.*

Jesse felt very guilty for waiting outside the Human's home. He tried to forget the uncomfortable feeling by reading out of his book, but it failed to completely distract him.

A small, blue car rolled into the driveway and four humans climbed out. The girl he was looking for delayed walking into the house by fetching several items from the car. When her family was safely inside, she closed the car door and turned to look at him directly. She raised her hand and gave a large wave, and called a greeting.

"Hey! Hope you have a good night!"

Her voice was at a lower pitch than he'd expected, and he was surprised by the cheeriness of her greeting. Southern hospitality, perhaps.

As the girl ran inside, she took an almost flying leap to pass two bushes lining the path to the door. Jesse shook his head in both amazement and amusement.

*.*

"So that's definitely her?" Ren asked the others. Everyone-even Stoica, who had dropped his human disguise entirely-nodded in perfect agreement.

"I'm really done with watching her," Zenet added. "She doesn't do anything at school that's really interesting."

"I say we go on and infiltrate the school already," Stoica added. "I am really ready to get off this Human Planet."

"Who's going to do it? And when?" Mason asked. "Not me. She looked right at me, so she knows who I am."

"Or are you just chickening out because she's a girl?" Sid teased. Jesse ignored them, and pointed at Ren.

"You are the only one who hasn't seen her in person. You will be certain once you do. I suggest you do it tomorrow, so that we may return to our own universe much sooner."

Ren nodded.

"Oh yeah," Zenet added. "There are twenty-four people in her class, so you'll stand out a bit."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Let me handle this part," Stoica said. "You just get into that school at 8:15 in the morning."


	3. School Day

Ren wasn't entirely sure how he would be able to pull this off. Stoica had come through and gotten him onto the Shadow program. Now Ren was allowed to follow the freshman class for a day. But why was he so uneasy?

"Go on!" Sid urged, gripping the steering wheel of their "borrowed" car much harder than necessary. Ren opened the passenger door and slung the bookbag-graciously lent to him by Jesse-over his shoulder and joined the flow of human students.

When he reported in at the office desk, the receptionist eagerly showed him down the hall and passed him off to a ninth grade boy named Mike.

"So you're shadowing today?" Mike brushed back his dirty blonde bangs as he regarded Ren. Ren realized that Mike's skin was much lighter than his Human disguise's. All the boys had fair complexions, except for one. There was more variation among the girls.

Ren listened-not too attentively-as Mike talked introducing some of his classmates. Only a few names stuck in his mind, along with a few characteristics: Blair was the only redhead, Alan wore large, square glasses, Strom had long hair that he held back in a ponytail, Yasmin had a soft, kind voice, Alison was sarcastic and had long almost-black hair that reached almost to her waist, and Pia's skin had the darkest skin tone of the whole group.

Ren allowed himself to be lead into a classroom. As the students took their seats, the teacher-a six-foot tall male human with cropped brown hair-introduced himself as Mr. Lynn. He showed Ren to an empty seat. Not even 10 seconds later, a girl with glasses and boyishly short hair sat in the chair next to him.

The anxiousness Lena had mentioned hit him stronger than a physical blow. At the teacher's prompting, she took out a book and handed it to him, apologizing that it was testing day and that there would be four hours of quiet.

Ren tried to read the book; he honestly tried to focus, but he couldn't stop looking at her out of the corner of his eye. It was magnetic.

After handing her test in, the girl took out a scrap of paper and scribbled something. She slid it across the table to him. He looked at her loose handwriting.

_What's your name? I'm Roya._

_Ren_, he wrote, borrowing her pencil.

_I think I've seen you somewhere. What do you think?_

Ren carefully thought about this new development, then wrote back: _I've never seen you. Pretty sure._

_Oh well. Anyway, once everyone is done, we go to gym class, then geometry. We're stuck inside with little kids because of rain. I wanted to go outside. :(_

Ren had no response and did not try to think of one. Roya seemed satisfied as well: she pulled out a sketchbook and began to draw. Ren returned to his borrowed book.

After perhaps the longest hours of his life, the ninth grade class-with Ren in tow-entered the Gym. The children were separated from the older students by a thick red curtain. Yet despite this, Roya, Mike, and Alison went to the other side.

Once proving that he was utterly hopeless at following the rules of basketball, he followed the examples of other ninth graders and crossed over to the younger children's side of the curtained area.

It was quite a sight: perhaps 50 five-to-six-year-old humans swarming the seven older humans who were kindly playing with them. Roya, Alison, and Yasmin were carrying children on their backs, Mike was pulling a chain of scooters, two other girls were racing on scooters, and the only other boy-Ren remembered his name was Sam-was buried under a dog pile.

"Look Strom!" Roya called, toting a small blonde girl on her back. "I have a child backpack!"

"Child backpack!" the child cried, laughing almost hysterically. Roya ran off, spinning in circles on occasion.

The minute that the children left the gym, all the ninth grade girls sat on scooters and began being pulled around by the guys. Ren could only watch in amazement at their childishness.

"We're worse than the children!" Alison and Roya cried multiple times as they giggled and shrieked with delight. Ren could only agree.

Careful not to be seen, Ren left the gym. He carefully made his was to the end of the lockers and stood in a sheltered corner. Pressing his hand to his communicator, he whispered a report.


	4. Abducted

"So you're coming to the meeting?" Sam asked Ren at the end of the day.

"Yeah," Ren answered. "I might come here next year, so I think I should. Where is it again?"

"We're meeting behind the playground. There's a clearing in that little pocket of trees. It's at six, so it might be dark by then."

Ren nodded his thanks and walked down the hall. He was really becoming confused by the Human's strange habits and expressions. And _why_ in the world would twenty-four teenagers be calling a meeting when it was getting dark outside?

He decided it really didn't matter. The meeting gave him plenty of reason to finish his mission. He was almost certain that Roya was the one he'd been searching for. The tricky part would be getting her to Gundalia.

"I have an idea," Stoica's voice said through Ren's communicator.

*.*

"I really would like an anime club," Roya put in. "Or a Go club. Something based in foreign countries maybe."

Ren traced pattern in the dirt, not fully paying attention. He was listening for any sign that his plan was working. He'd just let the Humans talk and forget he was there.

"We should do a gaming club," Strom interjected. "We could learn to play different card and board games every week."

"What would you want to do?"

Ren looked up to see twenty-four pairs of eyes watching him, waiting for input.

"Programming," he mumbled.

"Like computer coding?" someone whose name he hadn't bothered to learn asked. He nodded, and the group began to discuss. Blair's friend with long wavy hair feverishly scribbled down notes.

Thankfully, no one asked him again. It was dark outside by the time everyone had shared their ideas. Ren stood and began talking into his communicator; there was no need to hide his intent any longer.

"Yes, I have them all here. It's time for us to finish this."

Roya was looking at him, her eyes wide. A friend was standing next to her, looking nervous.

"Hey, Ren," Roya said, a little louder than necessary. "Is your last name Krawler?"

Ren smiled and nodded. While her friend looked utterly amazed, Roya looked afraid.

"You know what's happening next, don't you? Ren asked. The clearing was very quiet, everyone watching the exchange. Roya glanced at her friend, then almost imperceptibly nodded.

The wind picked up, making the leaves on the trees rustle loudly. Stoica's ship slowly covered the opening in the treetops. Roya went white.

A yellow beam shone from the bottom of the ship, and the whole ninth grade class began to teleport. Several of them shrieked or screamed. Ren tried to ignore them as he teleported onto the ship himself.

*.*

"Where are we?"

"What in the-?"

"What is this nonsense?!"

"Shut up and face the wall," Sid snapped. No one listened to him, though some of the class stopped talking. Sid growled in frustration. Roya watched him with wide eyes, trying to process what had just happened.

"Face the wall!" he roared. The class stopped talking, but only a few obeyed and turned their backs to him.

"Do as he says," Roya whispered. "These guys are serious. They won't hurt us too bad if we cooperate."

Grudgingly, all the humans faced the wall. Sid muttered under his breath as he cuffed their wrists together. Roya twisted around to watch him. Though it made no sense, he felt nervous when they made eye contact.

Whispered questions broke out the instant Sid left the room. Roya tried to answer them, but even she didn't know what was in store. She could only suspect-she admitted grimly-that they were going to be used as soldiers.

Silence ensued the moment Stoica and Ren entered. Roya could understand: they had never seen Gundalians before. All she could do was glare at Ren, ignoring his true form. She willed him to feel her anger at his betrayal. Even if it was expected.

Stoica laughed at the shocked expressions that greeted him.

"Not what you expected, right?" he asked scathingly. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but this is how it is."

"I think my eyes are burning," Roya whispered. Her friend, Mei, laughed.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Stoica asked, standing directly in front of her. Roya curled her lip in disgust.

"Don't call me sweetheart again. You might get bitten. Right after I vomit from being so grossed out."

"Oh, I like this one!" Stoica laughed. "She has a fiery side!"

Roya grit her teeth and shook her head in exasperation. She glared at Ren again. He turned away.

"Where are you taking us?" Mei asked. She looked like she really didn't want to know the answer.

"Nowhere special," Ren said. "Just home."


	5. Meeting the Witch

The trip in Stoica's ship was so long that some of the Ninth grade class fell asleep. Not Roya. She was too busy trying to carry on a silent conversation with Mei using _very_ limited hand signals. Mei kept glaring at Stoica with such intensity, it was surprising that he didn't step back. Or burst into flames.

Roya made faces to try and display what she was thinking. However, the instant Jesse took a turn to watch over the class, she straightened up and watched him with wide eyes. Then she swayed and pretended to faint. Mei rolled her eyes, fighting giggles.

Alison made everyone nervous when she woke up and began cursing Mason. Mei kicked her, but that did nothing but enrage her all the more. Maybe it was lucky Mason was finding it hilarious.

Roya stood up and looked out the window. Nothing but the dumb dimensional tunnel. _Boring_.

Both Roya and Mei considered trying to talk to Jesse-who was still facilitating-but thought better of it. Jesse was a lot of things, but the one thing he wasn't was a liar. Plus, there was no way to tell what he'd report to his superiors.

"Why don't they just hypnotize most of us already and get it over with?" Mei complained, very loudly. Jesse stiffened. Roya looked surprised. Maybe it was luck, but Zenet replaced Jesse at that exact moment.

_We are very lucky_, Roya thought. _Too lucky_.

*.*

"Whatever you do, don't look the crazy lady with blue skin in the eye!"

Roya was furiously trying to brief her class on "how to avoid getting hypnotized". Most of them just looked panicked. They were walking in one large mass through the halls of the Gundalian palace. Sam, struggling not to let his panic show, simply asked, "Hypnotism?"

"I mean that literally. Her eyes will flippin' _glow_," Roya whispered. Sam's eyes widened, but didn't have the chance to ask. Roya felt a hand on her shoulder and froze. Lena was looking down at her.

"There will be no more talking," she ordered. Mei stuck her tongue out from behind Lena's back.

"This will be over soon, I can promise you that," Lena continued, not noticing Mei. Roya shrugged off her hand and kept walking.

The Bakugan Biological Research lab-Roya found _that_ a mouthful-was big and dimly lit. Roya tried to control a wriggling feeling of fear that had entered her stomach. She looked behind her and was surprised to see Mei looking around as though she was looking for something-or someone.

Whispered conversations broke out the moment Ren and his team were out of earshot. Roya turned and tried to warn the first person she saw: a tall blonde boy named Kaleb. But the door was opened and Roya's breathing sped. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned around. Someone muttered something about Medusa.

"You don't need to worry, children," Kazarina's voice said, echoing in the emptiness. Roya wanted to vomit; it was so _disgusting_. Someone nearby shuddered. "No one is going to hurt you here. I _promise_."

_I think I am gonna vomit,_ Roya thought. _For real_.

She heard Mei mutter, "Won't hurt us, my foot." And, personally, she couldn't agree more.

For some reason, Roya suddenly had the song "I Knew You Were Trouble," by Taylor Swift in her head.

_What the crud is wrong with me?_

Several gasps were cut short, and Roya squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. There was no way she could look now.

Sam, who was two people diagonal to her, was making slight noises as he looked around. Roya heard his "Oh, snap."

_Darn you Sam. Why did you open your eyes?_ Roya thought. She tensed up as Kazarina's footsteps came over to her, and covered her face in her hands.

"You don't need to be afraid." Kazarina's voice gave Roya the shivers. "No one will hurt you. You can open your eyes."

"No," Roya said, her voice trembling. "I know what you want to do to me, Kazarina. I won't open my eyes. I am not losing my free will to you."

Roya felt Kazarina's hand close on her wrist and she panicked.

"I'll serve Gundalia of my own free will!" she cried. "I'll fight for Gundalia! Just don't hypnotize me!"

Kazarina's grip released, and Roya re-covered her shut eyes with her hands. She could hear Kazarina whispering to someone else before a gentle hand touched her shoulder.

"Come on Roya," Ren's voice said. Roya reached out and grabbed his arm. He led her through the crowd of her hypnotized classmates and into a seemingly empty hallway.

"You can let go of me now," Ren said after a while; Roya was holding his arm so tightly it was going numb. Roya furiously shook her head. Ren sighed.

"Kazarina isn't here."

"You're sure?" she asked. "You promise she's gone?"

"Yes. We're alone."

Roya peeked from under her eyelashes. When she was certain that it was safe, she opened her eyes fully, though she didn't let go of Ren's arm for a few more seconds.

"Sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I panicked," Roya apologized, letting go. "I really didn't realize how intense the whole situation really is. I was scared out of my wits. Still am, actually."

Ren didn't respond. Roya breathed deeply to try and calm down. They walked in silence until they reached a mostly empty room. The only furniture in the room was a bed.

Left alone-Ren had suddenly become occupied-Roya walked to the bed and sat on it, feeling the smooth covers. Then she fell forward, facedown, onto the pillow. She was exhausted from using so much terror in one sitting. Five minutes later she was asleep, fully dressed.


	6. Mass Confusion

Roya paced her room. Despite trying to act calm, she wasn't a hundred percent sure that Kazarina would really leave her alone, even if she had promised to work on the Gundalian side. There was just no way to predict them.

She crossed the room and lay across the bed that had been provided. Breathing deeply, she stared at the ceiling.

The door slid open and Lena poked her head inside.

"What are you doing?" she asked, coming in. Roya didn't move.

"Have you ever just lay down and tried to think of nothing? Just feeling your own breathing and heartbeat?"

"No," Lena answered. "It seems a pointless exercise."

Roya didn't answer; she just shrugged as she sat up. Crossing her legs, she looked at Lena, waiting. Lena-quick on the uptake-cleared her throat.

"I was sent to understand your character. To be sure you weren't just saying anything to keep from joining your classmates."

"Okay," Roya said. "Good Luck. And, by the way, you do know that the Twelve Orders don't even care about you? They'll toss you out the moment they don't need you. You're just a little pawn in their power game."

The shock was evident on Lena's face.

"I-I knew they never treated me as an equal, but I never knew...I thought they did it for effectiveness. By not forming any favoritism, they won't have to deal with emotional stress if one of us is lost in battle."

Roya sighed.

"It's not phycology. At least not like that. They just don't care. At all."

*.*

Airzel could hear them in the hall. Lena was taking her assignment a bit too seriously.

"Yep. 23 pairs. 46 total."

"Interesting."

The door slid open, and Airzel found Lena and Roya both sitting on the floor opposite each other. Both were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even turn around. He cleared his throat and they both turned to look at him.

"Lena, you're needed."

Lena instantly became professional again and left the room. Roya watched her go, then looked straight at Airzel. He crossed his arms.

"You made quite a stir when you sent out those signals."

"Yeah, Lena told me," Roya answered. "And it wasn't intentional. But anyway, what do you want with me?"

Her face added another sentence: Please don't take me to Kazarina.

"I came to see what all the fuss was about," Airzel sneered. "What makes you so special. You don't look like much to me."

Roya rolled her eyes, and he could hear her mutter, "Same song, second verse."

*.*

Jesse watched Airzel storm out of Roya's room. He was mumbling furiously.

"Predictable...she knows who...wrong...no good...uninformed..."

Jesse was unsure if he had the best timing: Airzel was fuming enough to power a steam engine, and he could only guess what mood Roya was in.

Putting his doubts aside, he stood in the open doorway and peered in.

Roya was walking in circles, talking aloud, just like she'd done in her own room many times. She was either unaware, or ignoring his presence.

Roya's gaze traveled over him, then she did a double take. Staring at Jesse with wide eyes, a shocked silence stretched taunt in the air. Then she turned on her heel, pointing up at the ceiling.

"Please excuse me," she declared. "I think I am going to faint."

With a slightly dramatic sway, Roya fell flat on the ground, one hand held to her forehead. Jesse watched her until-a few moments later-she sat up. She looked him over with honest interest. Jesse shifted his weight to his left leg, not entirely sure how to break the silence. He just kept his aloof expression on.

"You're taller than I imagined," Roya commented, standing up. "But other than that you're exactly as I envisioned you. Book and all."

"You seem very familiar with all of us," Jesse commented. "And yet, no one here has such a firm grasp upon yourcharacter." Roya shrugged.

"Character analyzation," she said carelessly, "is an important skill in two my passions. Acting and Writing."

"It seems we have a commonality," Jesse said. He opened his book and turned to one of its familiar passages. "I pride myself on being Gundalia's finest actor."

"It is an honor to play opposite such amarquee performer." Roya said, putting on a British accent and bowing at the waist. Jesse returned the bow, no less dramatically or flamboyantly.

I did not expect a form of companionship, Jesse thought. It is strangely relieving. Perhaps it is for the best. Now I require fewer lies.

*.*

Barodius was wondering why he didn't have a pounding headache. He'd just listened to six accounts of the human's personality, and they were all conflicting.

According to Lena, Roya was science minded, logical, but not unusually intelligent. Mason said she was a smart alec. Airzel called her apathetic. Ren said she was quiet and thoughtful, very introverted. Jesse had mentioned that she came across as dramatic. Kazarina's comments suggested she was easily frightened.

"I give you one simple order," he growled, "and none of you can give me anything accurate!"

"If I may," Jesse said, waiting for Barodius' signal to continue. The Emperor did not stop him, so he pressed on. "Roya is an actress, capable of portraying more than one personality type. I believe that she has presented pieces of her identity to each of us. In this way, she can be honest, yet still keep us unaware of her true character and motives."

Barodius thought about it. It made sense, but he wasn't about to admit it.

"Leave," he ordered. "Ren, I need to talk to you."


	7. Sunday

"Come in," Roya said from behind the door. As it slid open, Ren took a deep breath to calm himself; Roya's presence didn't inspire nearly as much nervousness on Gundalia, but she could still do it if you were caught off guard.

Roya was standing next to her bed, pacing, her brow furrowed like she was trying to remember something.

"What are you doing?" he asked. She let out a frustrated breath and said, "I'm trying to pull a verse from memory. It's proving stubborn."

Ren had no answer for that. Roya kept pacing, but she glanced at Ren every few seconds. Then, putting her hands on her hips, she turned to face him directly.

"Will you stop staring at me? Your presence is distracting."

"There's not much else I can do," Ren protested. Roya exhaled angrily.

"Let me guess, Barodius wants you to follow me around, and now you have no clue what to do."

Ren nodded, sheepishly. She knew, so there was no point in disguising his intentions. The uncomfortable silence that followed didn't break for several long moments. Roya tried to ignore him, and this time succeeded.

This continued for another two minutes.

"If you're going to be here," Roya sighed, "we might as well talk."

"How are you doing?" Ren asked, half-teasing. He was embarrassed enough as is, and it was relieving that Roya was willing to accept his observations without comment.

"Bored, not that I should really be complaining," she answered. "I've used up so much panic over the past two days that I just need a break. I guess it's good that it's Sunday then."

"Why is Sunday so special?" Ren wanted to know. "Aside from not having school?"

"Sunday is my day off."

He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. Instead, she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. Ren pressed on.

"So you do nothing on Sunday?"

"No," Roya answered, covering her shut eyes with her arm. "I just do different things on Sunday. But I don't have any supplies here."

"What do you need?"

"A very specific book, which is only found on Earth."

More silence. This was not going as well as Ren had hoped.

"We do have a library," he finally said. "There aren't many human books, but there's one or two. We could go there..."

"Sure," Roya answered, sliding off the bed.

As they walked down the hall, the conversation became easier, less awkward. Ren realized that Roya was actually very talkative once you gave the opportunity. He was beginning to see her as more friendly the longer he was near her.

"I have to say, I'm surprised you even have the time to be my chaperone," she commented. "I thought you'd be really busy. You know, between working at BI and fighting in the war."

"BI?"

Roya looked shocked-and a little ashamed.

"I thought you knew about BI already," she admitted. "It's an virtual interspace system on your version if earth. It was built especially for brawling. They just don't have enough Bakugan DNA. All they have is Neathian, which they aren't interpreting fast enough."

Ren considered this. Roya looked very worried, as if she was having second thoughts about saying anything. In time, they reached the library, and Roya forgot her concern.

"This place is HUGE!" she gasped. "Holy crow! This is awesome!"

Ren smiled at her enthusiasm. She wasted no time in finding the four human books-after all, they were the only ones she could read. As she picked up the first one, she looked at Ren, one eyebrow raised.

"Where did you guys get this?"

Ren looked at the book: a relatively thick, black volume with gold lettering on the covering. He recognised it and tried to remember where this one had come from.

"Our scouts found it," he said. "When we were observing Earth the first time. It was in a drawer with no one's name on it."

"You're not supposed to take the Bible out of hotels!" she groaned. But her smile contradicted her supposed sternness. She sat on the floor, opened the book, and began to read. Ren selected a book of his own and sat down to join her, watching her every few minutes. Trying to feign disinterest, he asked, "What else can you tell me about the Interspace?"

"Its not much right now," she answered, rifling though pages. "To be honest, it won't be anything impressive until you get to Earth. Your knowledge of Bakugan is crucial to its development."

"Can you see the future?" Ren wanted to know.

"No," Roya responded after a moment's deliberation. "I just have an innate knowledge about this Universe-its how I knew all of your names before meeting you-and one of the things I know is that you need to find the Interspace on Earth if this war is going to make any progress."

"So, we're at an impasse until I go to Earth? That seems a little far fetched."

"I really don't know, just that you need to get to the Interspace."

Ren thought about this new development. It could be important, and-at the very least-was something new to report to the Emperor.


	8. Exploration

It was an apparently ordinary afternoon in the Gundalian Capital. Except for the human walking through the street, accompanied by two high-ranking members of the Army.

"I feel so conspicuous," Roya stage-whispered to Zenet and Lena on either side of her. And it was obvious why: she was surrounded by Gundalians, the only human on the whole planet.

"Remind me why we're doing this?" she asked. Lena and Zenet shared a glance.

"We have the day off, and asked if we could show you around," Zenet said. Roya looked around again. She seemed surprised at the poverty level, but not the dirty looks given to her escorts, nor the curious ones directed at her.

"Everyone looks so desperate," she said. "What happened here."

"The war," Lena answered grimly. Roya looked around again.

"You know what I just realized?" Roya said. Both Zenet and Lena shook their heads. "This is the exact opposite of what happened back home. War came in a saved the economy."

"What are you talking about?" Zenet asked, very confused at the reference to Human History. Roya laughed, a little bitterly.

"Where I live, in America, the economy was really bad at the start of the twentieth century. After a decade of trying to pull the country out of the depression, Japan-a country far to the east-bombed one of our harbors. In 1941, we declared war. It was like waking a sleeping giant; America became a war machine, and by using the war as motivation, we pulled ourselves out of the slump. War destroyed your prosperity, yet it regenerated ours."

"How long did the war last?" Lena asked. Roya shrugged.

"Half a decade, give or take. There were millions of casualties, but not nearly as many as the American Civil war, but still the bloodiest war in Earth's history up to this point. Roughly 56 million dead, and of that number, 13 million were innocent civilians that were murdered by the opposition."

"Your warfare is very different than ours," Lena commented. Zenet looked revolted. Roya sighed.

"Can we stop for lunch? I'm hungry."

"Didn't you eat enough breakfast?" Zenet asked. "It was just two hours ago."

"I wasn't sure what any of it was," Roya answered, making a face. "I have nothing against trying new food, but I really would like to know what I'm putting into my stomach."

After ten minutes of walking, they sat at a small table in an almost empty resturant. Agreeing to share, each girl ordered their food. Roya eagerly took each dish and sampled it-only after confirming what it was. Zenet's eyes widened as she realized how much the human ate while Lena just took mental notes. When they had eaten their fill, they left.

If they had any plans, they were shattered by a combination of Roya's so very obvious human apparel and Zenet's spotting a clothing store. Despite being the facilitator of the group, Lena found herself being dragged into the shop.

Roya wasted no time in finding designs that caught her interest. Zenet was equally engaged. Lena just used her mental calculator to keep track of the money they might be spending.

"What about this?" Zenet asked, holding out a long emerald green dress. Roya considered it.

"It's not practical," she answered. "And unless your currency is like pesos, its expensive too. It's really pretty though."

"Don't worry about costs," Lena said. Zenet nodded, then blurted: "The Emperor is paying for all this."

Roya stared. "I think my brain just exploded," she declared a moment later. Lena gave Zenet and icy stare, as if to say, "nice going."

"So let me get this straight," Roya said. "Emperor Barodius-the all-powerful ruler of Gundalia with a slight ego problem-is paying for a shopping trip?" She didn't even wait for a confirmation. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes," Lena said, with the air of someone being forced to say something unpleasant. "The Emperor wished for us to extend his invitation to dine with you in two days."

Roya's eyes were so wide, they were sure to pop out if she didn't stop getting surprised.

"Please excuse me while I replace the blown fuse in my head right now," she said, shaking her head back and forth, as if to clear it. Lena glared at Zenet again, who smiled, very embarrassed.

Roya recovered from her shock and seemed to be enjoying herself by the time they left. She was quiet and watched the other passersby on the road. Then something caught her eye down a small alley passage: A small child, peeking around the stone corner, wearing badly torn clothes.

Diverting her path, Roya approached the tiny girl. Unbuttoning her polo shirt, she pulled it off so that she stood there in her black T-shirt that she used as an undershirt. Taking off her shoes and socks, she put the socks in her pockets. Then she knelt and offered her polo shirt and shoes to the small girl. The tiny Gundalian looked at Roya with wide eyes and backed away, afraid of her human appearence. Roya smiled and placed the proffered items on the ground.

"There you go," she said, retreating. "Now the scary human is going away."

Standing, Roya rejoined Lena and Zenet, not looking back.

"What did you do that for?" Zenet asked.

"Did she take them?"

"Yeah," Zenet answered. "But that was your stuff. Why did you do that?"

"She needed it more than I did. I was growing out of those things anyway. Besides, I like walking barefoot."

Lena looked ready to say something, but swallowed it. Roya took off running.

"Let's keep exploring!" she exclaimed happily. Zenet looked sideways at Lena and gave a helpless shrug.


	9. Dinner Date

Holding up the long green dress from her shopping trip, Roya wondered for perhaps the fiftieth time if she would be able to go through with this.

"Oh well," she sighed, and pulled the dress on. She examined herself in the mirror, cleaned her glasses again, and tried to organize her short haircut. There wasn't much she could do to improve how she looked, and she gave up after another few fruitless minutes.

"You ready yet?" Mason called from the hallway. "Yeah," she answered. "Hold up a minute, I'm coming."

The door slid open, and Roya followed Mason down the hallway. He looked over his shoulder and appraised her.

"You look very nice," he remarked. Roya knew what was coming; she saw the smirk. "Of course, it makes you wonder. Are you getting ready for a date with the Emperor, or your coffin."

"There goes my every attempt to stay calm," Roya said acidly. "Thank you for adding to my nervousness, Mason."

He told her it was no problem. Roya immediately formed a plan for revenge.

"So, Mr. Smart Alec," she started, and she saw him become nervous. "speaking of dates, how's it going with Lena?" She pretended to take his silence for an answer. "Still hung up on Sid, is she?"

Mason was rescued only by arriving at the banquet hall. Roya gave him a hand signal, meaning: we'll finish this later. I won't forget.

The sound of her name in Barodius' voice was enough to make her fight down shivers.

"Roya."

She looked at the Emperor, and nodded. "Emperor Barodius," she responded, careful to use his title. He gestured for her to sit, and she obeyed, not taking her eyes off him as a small form of defiance.

"I do trust that your stay has been comfortable," he said, opening the conversation. Roya pretended to consider this, though her answer was already on the tip of her tongue.

"Yes, though I would also compare it to living in the same house as Medusa. Kazarina's presence makes me nervous, for there is no telling whether or not I will remain within my own power for much longer."

"You will have my word that Kazarina will not try to hypnotize you," Barodius promised. "I apologise that I was capable of...correcting this oversight. I have been busy with the war."

"I am flattered that you even took the time to learn my name," Roya said, trying to seem humble. "You are a very important person, after all."

"Don't sell yourself short." _Ah, we've arrived at the dangerous topic_, Roya thought. "I believe that you have talents that rival our own. You made quite a first impression on us all."

Barodius' voice was deadly calm and smooth. Roya could almost feel his impatience

"As I have heard," she replied, trying to mimic his tone, trying to convey a silent message of "don't push me. you won't like the result".

Almost surprisingly, the Emperor seemed to withdraw the topic. Roya shot down the idea that she made him nervous: Barodius always remained unfazed. They traded some more pleasantires, but neither was really interested, and it showed-faintly, but still present.

"Ren has been good to me in my short time here," Roya inserted after a moment of silence. "He visits me in my cell-pardon me-room from time to time, though not recently. I believe he reported the Interspace to you, am I correct? How goes the infiltration there?"

"There has been no time for a formal report," Barodius answered, making a careless gesture with one hand. "However, he arrived intact."

Roya took note of the Emperor's final word, and filed it away. She reflected on her position and considered carefully her next words, not hoping to offend someone who could become a deadly enemy.

"If I may be so bold, I would ask something of you," She took Barodius' nod as an affirmative and continued. "May I join Ren in the interspace?"

"Have you never been there yourself?"

"The Interspace isn't public yet. I have heard tale of it, yet never seen it in person."

"Let you go?" Barodius mused. "I am not so sure. You are an unknown variable. There are no guarantees with you."

Roya fought the overpowering urge to roll her eyes. Unknown variable? Yes. Precoius asset? Totally. Might turn Ren over to the Neathians? Maybe, maybe not. Much safer to keep her locked up in the palace. Roya lifted a single eyebrow, and held her argument steady.

"What if I promise to not to betray the Gundalians? And I can tell you are going to ask why my word is worth anything. And I can assure you that promises in my family are very sincere. I myself do not have any idea of what my supposed 'gifts' are, so what better way to discover them than sending me to my home planet under the supervision of one of your most loyal servants?"

She took a small drink of...something while she let Barodius think about it. He certainly took his time. At length, he agreed, and by that time, Roya was finished, as was he. He bid her good night, and as she exited, she pushed down the desire to tell the Emperor that he kept reminding her of Spectra phantom.

Past the door, Jesse Glenn stood waiting, reading his book. Roya exhaled loudly and bent over, hands on her knees. Jesse raised an eyebrow.

"Aghhh! That was so much more scary and funny than I thought," she gasped. "Oh gosh! I feel shaky from acting so much! I could go for a nap now."

Jesse shook his head in mock exasperation, and Roya smacked his arm as she fell in step with him. They were silent until Roya saw a certain someone down another corridor.

"Wait here," she told Jesse. Jogging down the hallway, she pulled a crumbled piece of notebook paper and tossed it a the retreating figure. It hit their back lightly, and fell to the ground. Roya saw them pick up the paper, and then ran back to Jesse.

That night, she slept peacefully.


	10. The Interspace

"Okay," Roya mumbled to herself. "This needs to be nothing that big. I'm just...meeting Marucho, Dan, and Shun for the first time. Yeah...there's no way I can stay calm here."

"Why are you so nervous?" Ren asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. Roya ran her fingers through her hair, spiking it.

"I'm excited," she told him matter-of-factly. "I've wanted to meet these guys for _forever_! They're my idols. Well, aside from the ones I've created with my writing."

Ren raised an eyebrow, but let it pass without further comment. Roya kept her eyes scanning the skyline for any telltale recognisable buildings. Of course, she was so preoccupied that she nearly walked right past the Marukura family mansion, a real feat.

Kato was waiting inside for them, and he welcomed "master" Ren back. Leaping a little in her stride as they navigated through the labyrinth of halls, Roya tried unsuccessfully to control her jitters. Kato announced them, and Roya stared at the living breathing Dan, Marucho and-_pinch me!_ she thought-Shun. She recognised the room too: all white with computer monitors all across the wall. The main screen showed a picture of the Bakugan Interspace-still in it's barely post New Vestroian form.

"Hey guys, this is Roya," Ren introduced her. She smiled politely, afraid to overwhelm them. Dan stepped forward, and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Dan Kuso."

Roya took his hand and shook it once. Marucho and Shun both did the same, and her excitement rose again.

"It's really cool to meet you in person for the first time," Roya added conversationally. "Ren told a little about you, and I couldn't wait. Is this the Interspace he was talking about?"

"Yeah," Marucho said. "It's not much now, but would you like to come inside?"

"Go _inside_?" she gasped. "Would I ever!"

Lead down a set of stairs and onto the access point, Marucho instructed the techies to start up the jump into the system. Roya bounced on her toes freely now, unable to suppress it any longer. Ren and Dan both laughed, but Shun politely refrained. As they entered the Interspace, the tickling sensation drove Roya up the wall, hardly able to stop herself from reacting.

"HOLY FLIPPIN' CROP!" she exclaimed when she took a single glance at the digital realm around her. With a loud fangirl squeal, Roya jumped up and down excitedly. "This is so _cool_! I cannot believe that I am standing inside of a _virtual reality_! Oh my gosh, there is no way to say how awesome this is!"

Marucho laughed, partially embarrassed, but also partially alarmed at her powerful reaction. Roya ran her hands over a wall and exclaimed "HOLY FLIPPIN' CROP!" again. Shun looked at Ren.

"At least one of us is excited."

With effort, Roya pulled herself together and apologised for being so loud. Dan laughed.

"You should've seen the look on your face!" he told her. Drago popped open and scolded his partner for being rude. This reignited Roya's spastic-ness and she rushed over to stare at him. She controlled her fangirl reactions enough so that she didn't speak again, but her eyes were bigger than moons. Dan laughed again.

"Would you like to see a battle?" Ren asked.

"Live? Would I ever!" Roya answered. "I just hope my brain doesn't explode from excitement. That wouldn't be pleasant. For anybody."

"Who do you want to see battling?" Shun asked. Roya immediately became serious and considered her options carefully. Everyone-except Ren-seemed suprised at the weight she was giving to her descision. At length, she nominated Ren and Shun.

"They seem about even," she explained to Marucho as they climbed into the stands of a battle arena. "Plus, a Darkus against Ventus would be interesting. I don't remember seeing that matchup very often."

"I just wish Drago and I had the chance to battle though," Dan commented. "It's been a while."

"Sorry," Roya answered, without shame.

As Hawktor and Linehalt battled, Roya was captivated. She sometimes sided with Shun, other times with Ren, cheering the whole time. Though neither of the boys battling appeared to pay attention, they hadn't enjoyed a battle like this in a long time, with someone rooting for them in the stands.

When Shun won, Roya had nothing but good things to say about their battle performance.

"That was so cool!" she exclaimed to them both. "So intense! I could tell that two old pro's were matched up, but I had no clue it would be that good. If I were battling, I'd so lose."

She laughed at her own pathetic battle skills, and this set the wheels of Marucho's head turning. Ren saw it, and shook his head in amazement. Roya had just fufilled her own prediction of a Public Interspace.

"You never cease to suprise me," he told her later, the second they were alone. "You talked about a public interspace, and now there is one. Or there will be soon."

"Trust me, I wasn't expecting that to work," Roya answered. "I mean, Marucho didn't even need to ask for more clarification."

"Do you think that getting people to do whatever you want is the 'gift' the Emperor thinks you're supposed to have?" Ren teased. Roya looked at him with severity he was not expecting. Her gray/blue eyes held his golden ones steady with a power he didn't know where it came from.

"I think," she said, "that I will keep my suspicions about what I can do to myself. Keep your sharp Gundalian eyes open and maybe you'll figure it out."


	11. Partners?

Roya stood still, arms crossed, watching Kazarina carefully. She raised an eyebrow.

"You do know I am deathly afraid of needles in my skin, right?"

"This was your idea," Kazarina repeated, holding out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Roya looked at her own handwriting and read over it again.

_When I join the army in battle, I will need a way to separate myself from the hypnotized humans. I know a little bit about the Human disguises you Gundalians have. Perhaps you could use your advanced biological knowledge to reverse engineer the disguises so that I may have a Gundalian disguise. Your choice. Roya._

"And I was not expecting you to take me up on the offer," Roya added. "But I still don't like the idea of you studying my DNA, even if it is necessary. That's my blueprints for everything."

Kazarina said nothing, just stared at the Human. Roya sighed, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Let me guess," she sighed, "You want to find my 'gift' that the Emperor mentioned, right? The answer might be in my genes."

"Enough stalling," Kazarina snapped, irritated that the human had been smart enough to find the truth. "Are you going to let me take a blood sample or not?"

Roya nodded slowly, inhaling visibly to calm herself. Kazarina readied her materials and Roya sat herself down in a chair.

"By the way," Roya added as she ignored the needle in her arm, "I think the only thing my DNA will tell you how human I am. My gift-is I even have one-doesn't seem to be genetic, because I'm the family black sheep."

"You talk too much," Kazarina told her shortly. Roya rolled down her sleeve the instant the needle was removed, not paying attention to the small spot of blood that smeared on the fabric. She left the room quickly, not wanting to be questioned any more. Lena stood in the hall waiting.

"That's got to be annoying waiting around for me all the time," Roya commented. Lena shrugged.

"Emperor's orders."

Roya rolled her eyes with exasperation. At that exact moment, a faint sound echoed through the palace. A growl. Lena paled slightly, a strangely human reaction.

"You need to go to your room," she ordered, running by. Roya did not move until Lena had vanished down the hallway. Then she gave chase.

Going deeper into the castle than ever before, Roya moved past and around guard like a ghost, none of them noticing her. Of _course_ they didn't see her. She was too quiet and insignificant to exist. Old emotional injures flared with pain as the thought occurred to her. She pushed it away.

Down at what she thought was the basement level, Roya watched Lena leaving a large, ornate door. There was no apparent lock. Once her babysitter was gone, Roya crept from her hiding place. She pulled on the door handles, with no success, then pushed against them. It did not give way.

_Come on, stupid door_, Roya thought fiercely._ MOVE._

Pushing hard, the doors slowly swung open, a loud creak echoing from the hinges. A little surprised that it had actually worked, Roya walked through the open doorway.

The room was enormous. And very poorly lit. Roya's weak human eyes were barely able to make out the shape of the walls, let alone any details. Cautiously, she walked farther into the dark. It didn't take long before she saw a strange, flickering, purple light down a short flight of stairs. Ignoring her better judgement, she took three steps down the stairs.

What she saw froze her on the spot: a large, armored creature, so large, it could only be a bakugan, laid in the center of a ring of glowing runes. It was shaped like a greyhound, each piece of black metal armor meeting at angular joints. Purple wisps of smoky light filtered from the chinks in the bakugan's defensive covering.

It looked sad; large head resting on its paws, gazing at nothing in particular, the bakugan gave a deep sense of misery. Then it raised its head and looked down at Roya, with the barest hint of curiosity on its tired expression.

"What are you, tiny two-legged?" the bakugan asked. Roya was surprised at the female voice that came from its unmoving mouth.

"Human," she answered, barely able to speak louder than a whisper. "A prisoner of the Gundalian empire. Who are you?"

The bakugan laughed, bitterly.

"You say who, and not what? Perhaps humans are different than Gundalians. I am Darkus Zicanra. Your fellow captive."

"Why are you down here?"

"Because I refuse to serve the fool who calls himself Emperor," Zicanra siad haughtily. "I would not make a partner bond with any of his servants. For that, I am punished to remain in darkness."

"But what have you done?" the darkus bakugan asked Roya, pulling herself into a sitting position. "Surely you are too young to have been involved with the situation on Neathia."

Roya gave a small grin.

"I accidentally summoned the Twelve Orders to Earth," she explained. "They took me and my classmates captive to try and understand what happened. Their search is fruitless so far. But it's only a matter of time."

Zicanra looked down at Roya, the expression on her face hard to read because of the metal plates that covered it. Then, she rose up to her full height for the first time, well over a hundred feet.

"Do you see the circle of symbols around me?" she asked. Roya nodded, watching the pulsing light that came from them. "They keep me here as long as I am without a partner. If someone were to come within that ring, i could form a partnership with them. However, I would also be able to use my full power on that individual."

"So, if I come into the circle," Roya said slowly, "I could become your Brawler. But, you could hurt me."

"I like you, human. I truly do. I want to at least see."

Roya took a steadying breath. She traced over a single rune with her finger and hoped with all her might it would work. Or, at the very least, that she wouldn't be hurt. With a single step, Roya crossed the line fo glowing symbols.

The effect was instantaneous: Roya could feel Zicanra's emotions, feel what she had gone through. And she had no doubt that Zicanra was doing the same to her.

After several long, strained moments, Zicanra laid down again, her armored face directly before Roya.

"I think..." she paused before continuing, "I think that you are meant to be my battling partner."

"You sure?"

"Not entirely, but I am willing to try; I am tired of being alone in this perpetual darkness. If you will have me-"

"Consider it done," Roya answered readily. Streaching out her hand, she touched the large armor plates on Zicanra's face. The darkus bakugan gave a sigh of relief as she shrank into her ball form. Roya held her new partner close.

_Now how do I get out of here without attracting attention_, she wondered. _Someone is bound to be looking for me by now._

As she walked up the stairs, the only hope she had being that she wouldn't get lost on the way back to her cell.


	12. One surefire way to annoy Ren

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Roya cried as Zicanra took the last attack she could handle. The darkus bakugan returned to ball form without a single complaint. The Battle Brawlers-along with Ren-walked over to her.

This was the fifth failed training session this week. Roya just couldn't win. Except against Jake, but that didn't count; he was still trying to battle Dan's way.

"I don't get what I'm doing wrong!" Roya said, loudly, upset. She punched Jake in the arm to vent some of her frustration.

"It wasn't you that time," Marucho comforted her. "Dan forgot you were a beginner."

Roya glared at the guilty party. Dan saw the look in her eye and began to retreat. Too late.

"Daniel Kuso!" Roya hollered as a battle cry. He took off running and she gave chase, her fist raised, still yelling his name and various other threats, most of them involving physical pain. Shun sighed.

"You can't just lose your temper about Dan winning a battle," Shun told her once she calmed down enough to stop hunting Dan. "If you lose your focus that easy, then there's no way you'll be able to handle an actual brawl."

"I know, I know," Roya said, a bit waspishly. "I already know that. I'm too smart for my own good. The hard part is controlling my reactions when I get frustrated with myself. I've been watching battles happen for years. I know strategy. In simulations, I win every time. But the moment I actually take to the battlefield, I lose it. I'm not used to Zicanra's abilities, and it all happens so fast. I just need some time to get it, but I don't feel like there _is_ any, and my own impatience is driving me up the wall."

Roya punctuated her tirade with an exasperated sigh. Shun was more than a little surprised at the depth of her internal assessment. The most he could do was place a comforting hand on her shoulder. She blinked a few times in surprise and looked at Shun quizzically. Then the confusion faded and she smiled, just a little. A silent "thank you" for listening. Shun smiled back.

"How old are you? Twenty-nine?"

"Fifteen," she answered.

*.*

Roya peered over Ren's shoulder as he typed out long strings of computer code.

"Are you using the master alive program?" she asked, trying to read the computer language without success. "I have no clue what it does, aside from making more physical space in the interspace, but if it's a construction program, maybe it would make this go faster."

"I still don't understand how you learn about these things," Ren sighed. "The master alive program is something Marucho and I coded together-alone. No one else knows about it."

"Well, you _were_ talking out loud," Roya said innocently, returning to the open Google Maps program on a borrowed laptop. Ren glared at her, then rolled his eyes.

"Do you have to be so impossible?"

"I'm a conundrum," Roya replied. "And never forget, I'm an actress too. Those two combined must be irritating."

Ren was ready to give another snappish response, but Marucho walked into the room, forcing him to cut off.

"What are you still doing here Roya?" he asked. "I thought you'd have gone home by now. The Interspace is closed now."

"Good point," Roya said. "I guess I was having too much fun hanging out with y'all. Later."

She stretched her arms once, then walked through the door. Then her head reappeared through the doorway.

"Oh yeah. Ren, tomorrow is Sunday. You know what that means."

Ren rolled his eyes as his answer. Roya withdrew, and they heard her muttering to herself all the way down the hall.

"So," Marucho started. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Is there something special about Sundays?"

"It's her day off," Ren sighed. "I don't think she's coming in tomorrow. I don't really know what she plans to spend her time on."

*.*

**THE NEXT MORNING**

*.*

Roya walked down the street before remembering to put her communicator back in her ear. The instant it was secure, Ren's angry voice came bursting through.

"Where are you?! You've been gone all night and haven't answered any of my attempts to reach you!"

"Aw, were you worried about me?" Roya asked. Then she added a touch of sarcasm. "Or is it your job and standing with that dang Emperor of yours that has you so upset? Ren, we talked about this, remember? I'm like a freelancer: I do my own thing until I have a job to do. And Sundays are the one day when-job or not-I won't listen."

"Just get back here," Ren sighed. "We've all been wondering where you were."

"Which we?"

"I mean everyone. The Brawlers and my team."

"Tell Marucho I spent the night at 4066 Mustang Avenue. Tell him things were too hot at home for me to sleep there. I'll be at his house in-" she checked her map printout and watch-"up to fifteen minutes. Don't flip if it's later than that: I'm guestimating."

"Stop making up words," Ren complained lightly. Roya disconnected him and kept walking. It wouldn't be hard to get back to Marucho's house; she could see it from here.

Twenty minutes later, Roya was sitting under the angry stare of her supposed "commander" in front of the Brawlers.

"Why didn't you go to your house last night?" Marucho asked. "Why go to the-" he checked the map before continuing,"-Chapel instead?"

"Things are hot at home," Roya answered, shrugging and sinking lower in her chair. "Sid has anger issues, and no one can really defuse him. He won't stop picking on me, and I don't like it. What's worse, Mason's in on it."

Ren's glare could have burned through steel. No one but Roya and Shun noticed. Shun raised his eyebrows in confusion, and Roya continued slouching in her chair, slowly curling into a little ball.

"Are you _trying_ to blow our cover?!" Ren asked the second they were alone. "Didn't you think that the Brawlers just might realize that the 'Neathian' moles have the same names.

"Chill," Roya answered. "They assume the last name of my mean big brothers is the same as mine. Hagar. And those two _do_ drive me nuts. They're crazy."

"I wish you were just more careful."

"I'm plenty careful," Roya replied, waspishly. "Maybe you should be paying more attention to what your team is up to rather than be my own personal control freak."

"The Emperor gave _me_ the job of looking after you!" Ren exclaimed. Roya rolled her eyes.

"Well, it'll be easier once I move into Marucho's guest room."

Ren froze. Then he let out a sigh.

Roya was a force of nature. There was nothing capable of stopping her. And her uncanny ability to get what she wanted was disturbing enough without her prophesy of the Interspace affecting the war.

"Whatever you say," he surrendered.


	13. On the Battlefield

"Commencing final test," Kazarina's voice said over the intercom. Roya flexed her fingers, unsure what exactly to do.

"This is neurologically controlled, right?" Roya called. "I just have to think about it?"

"Correct. Now hurry. The Emperor wishes for you to join the force going to Neathia today."

Taking a deep breath, Roya concentrated. She tried to imagine the rainbow glow surrounding her...and was very surprised when Kazarina declared the test completed. Opening her eyes, Roya stared in wonder as it became apparent it had worked: her hand's had transformed in those of a Gundalian. Reaching up, she felt the golden horns around her head.

"This is so flippin' cool!" she exclaimed. "I need a mirror!"

"No time."

Roya spun around at Jesse's voice and saw him enter the lab floor. He proceeded to tell her that the fleet was preparing to leave for Neathia. Roya ran out of the room, trailing after him.

On Gill's ship, she looked out the window at the dimensional tunnel briefly, then watched her reflection in the glass.

_Kazarina might be evil, but she does good work_, Roya thought. The disguise was convincing, even more so than the human disguises. If she didn't know better, she'd think that the Gundalian looking back at her was born and bred. There was just enough distinction to tell who it was.

"You look quite fitting as one of our kind," Jesse commented, reading from his book. "A shame you were born human."

"And from a different universe," Roya replied, stepping away from the window. "I am quite liking you Gundalians. The ones who aren't totally, irrevocably evil, anyway. Like you and Zenet, and the rest."

"Which begs the question: why do you trust us so much?" he asked, looking Roya right in the eye. "You know what we are, and what we have done. You know the Emperor's goals. Yet you trust us, confide in us. Why?"

Roya shrugged, but Jesse's gaze did not falter, so she reluctantly answered.

"Because you aren't your deeds. What you've done isn't _you_. It's the Twelve Orders who are responsible. No matter what happens, you're still better than this. I know who you are under the soldier you seem to be. It's _that_ person I trust."

And for that, Jesse had no response.

*.*

The battlefield was loud, explosions of Bakugan Energy everywhere. Roya squinted at the glowing dome of the Fist Shield. Gill teleported in next to her.

"What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to the chaos. Roya took her time to answer, moving closer to the cliff's edge.

"I think that this battlefield is a total mess. The Neathians have no way to counterattack, so they're either hiding behind the shield, or trying to defend it. They obviously don't know what they're doing. On the other hand, your troops are incredibly disorganized."

"Most of them are humans from the Interspace," Gill added, trying to protect his competency. "And they-at least-are more effective than your twenty-three classmates."

"You used my class?!"

The outrage in her tone was unexpected, and Gill actually took a step back as a wave of fear hit him. Cloaked in her Gundalian disguise, Roya's anger was even more frightening; her clenched fists crackled with electricity, and her whole body was coiled like a spring, just waiting to be triggered. Gill immediately began to placate her.

"We only used them once. They are safely back home now, with no recollection of the incident."

Roya relaxed a fraction.

"All twenty-three of them?"

At Gill's affirmative, Roya returned her gaze to the battlefield, her rage gone. Gill was unsure what to do now, but he needn't have worried: Roya was overjoyed.

_They only counted 23 hypnotized classmates_, she thought, excited. _But there are 25 of us total! Someone got away! And the rest are safe._

"You know what, Gill?" she said calmly. "I think I'd like a closer look at that shield."


	14. Capitan Elright

"Capitan Elright! Capitan Elright, Sir!"

The Capitan of the Castle Knights turned away from his map to see one of his lieutenants running toward him, quite flustered. "What is it?" he asked, a bit surprised at the suddenness of it all.

The knight took some time to catch his breath before answering. When he did start talking, however, the words came out so fast that it was hardly comprehensible.

"There's a Gundalian by the shield, sir. One I don't recognize. Not a regular soldier either-no armor, no weapons, nothing. She won't leave, won't talk to anyone, aside from asking to see you herself. What should we do, sir?"

"She has no reinforcements?" Elright asked.

"None sir."

"And she is _completely_ unarmed?"

"Yes sir, as best we can tell."

Elright thought about it. Then he looked at Linus.

"Hold the front line. I need to talk to this one."

*.*

Roya paced outside the first shield, muttering to herself impatiently. Her mental scene of what was happening was taking longer for it to happen in reality than she would've liked.

"Come on, come on," she hissed to herself. The Neathians watched her got nervous at her tension, glancing at each other when they thought she wasn't looking.

_Elright_, she thought fiercely, _If you value your life you will get here right now!_

Squeezing her eyes shut, Roya counted to three, and looked past the shield. Lo and behold, there he was. Her bad mood vanished, and she stood as close to the shield as the Capitan of the Castle Knights was comfortable. She greeted him politely, careful to use his title.

"If you don't have a perfectly good reason to be here," Elright said crossing is arms, "then you had best leave before I am forced to remove you from the shield."

"Oh, stop pretending you have any control over the situation," Roya retorted, rolling her eyes. "It's all you can do to keep the Gundalian Army off the shield. It's only a matter of time before they breach it."

"If you're just here to gloat-"

"Oh no, I'm not gloating. It's the truth. It would take a miracle-a miracle you don't have-to repel Emperor Barrodius' army. Not counting the Twelve Orders."

Elright's expression was one of pure hatred. Roya felt miffed that it was directed at her; _she_ hadn't done anything-yet. The feeling was understandable, but still.

"Anyway," Roya continued, "I didn't come to argue about how long you'll last without help. I came to ask if Princess Fabia has left for Earth yet. Because if she's still here, I have some stuff to tell her."

Elright did not hide his surprise well: he jerked back so suddenly, he near lost his balance. Then he recovered slightly, just enough to talk.

"Whatever you have to say to the Princess, you can say to me."

Roya rolled her eyes. Loyal to the end. Normally it was a good thing, but now she felt like the shoulder angel of the President of the United States, trying to get past the secret service to give advice. Except she had a lot more than wings to help her out here.

Nervously, she placed her hand against the shield, expecting it to shock her. Thankfully, it didn't. Elright's heart was going to explode from shock if he didn't get a handle on himself: his looked completely bewildered, like a deer trapped in the glare of oncoming headlights. Roya relaxed a bit, and even smiled.

"I'll tell you this: once the Gundalians break through the first shield here-don't argue, because we both know it'll happen eventually-Linus will need to get out of here like the devil's after him."

"Why?"

"The Twelve Orders are gonna go straight after him. They don't know how important he is, but they'd figure it out pretty quick. Just pass it on, okay?"

Elright did not respond, but Roya could tell he would tell Linus-and Serena-at the earliest opportunity. she started to leave, but then remembered.

"Elright?"

He came back from wherever his thoughts had gone, and watched her suspiciously. Roya swallowed, her good mood evaporating into something more somber.

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"You having to take command like this. It must be hard. And I'm sad I didn't get to meet Commander Jin. He was a good man. I mourn at his passing, as I know you and the Royal family do."

Capitan Elright looked for signs of mocking on this Gundalian's face, but found none. She was being honest. She truly grieved for him. Before Elright could say anything else, the strange Gundalian girl teleported away.


End file.
